Do Prepaid Cards Come With Fees
Before you open a prepaid card, it’s important to understand what fees may be associated with them. Most prepaid cards charge monthly maintenance fees around $10, which is similar to checking account fees that can cost up to $15 a month. But you may also pay a fee to open your prepaid card, typically around $5.
You can also expect to incur an ATM fee, reload fee and foreign transaction fee with many prepaid cards.
The PayPal Prepaid Mastercard® can cost up to $4.95 to purchase the card and charges you $4.95 a month to use the card. You may also incur ATM withdrawal fees of $2.50, check deposit fees ranging from $0 to 5% of the total check amount and a 4% fee on purchases made outside the U.S.
There are options out there with minimal fees. Bluebird® by American Express has no card opening fee when you open an account online , no monthly fee and no foreign transaction fees.
While there’s typically no minimum balance requirement, you could get stuck paying a monthly fee you regardless of your balance. Make sure you’re familiar with your card’s terms of service and reach out directly to your card issuer for more information.
Ratehub’s Best Credit Cards For August 2021
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Featured
Cash Back Card
Earn 10% cash back during your first 4 months and 2% when your welcome rate ends.*
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Featured
No Fee Card
Collect 4% in CT Moneyâ¡ at Canadian Tire and 1.5% on your first $12,000 per year in grocery purchases
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Featured
Rewards Points Card
Apply now and you could earn up to 30,000 bonus points with the American Express Cobalt⢠Card
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Earn 4% cash back on groceries and gas.*
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Featured
Cash Back Card
Earn 10% cash back during your first 4 months and 2% when your welcome rate ends.*
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Featured
Rewards Points Card
Apply now and you could earn up to 30,000 bonus points with the American Express Cobalt⢠Card
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Featured
Rewards Points Card
Earn 4 pointsâ;â; for every $1 spent on eligible restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership and household utility purchases during the first 90 days
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Featured
Air Miles Card
Limited time offer: Get 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles and weâll waive the $120 annual fee for the first year*.
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Featured
Low APR Card
Standard Annual Interest Rates of 12.99% on purchases, 12.99% on balance transfers⪠and access cheques, and 24.99% on cash advances
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Featured
Low APR Card
Special offer: Get 0% interest for up to 10 months on balance transfers with a 1% transfer feeâ; and a first year annual fee rebate
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Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards
Most credit cards come with some type of travel insurance, but our pick for the most comprehensive coverage is the Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card. Typically, cards come with $1 million in medical emergency coverage for a few weeks of travel, with little to no coverage for seniors; however, this card comes with up to $5 million per person for trips of up to 48 days if youre 59 and under . Even seniors up to the age of 75 will receive complimentary coverage for up to 15 days. It also includes solid trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance, flight delay insurance, baggage insurance and vehicle rental insurance. To top it all off: The card comes with up to $1,000 in mobile device insurance thatll cover your cell phone if its lost, stolen or damaged.
- Annual fee: $99
- Welcome bonus: None
- Earn rate: 1.5 points per $1 spent on all Canadian purchases and 3 points per $1 on foreign purchases
- Additional benefits: Access to Visa Infinite benefits including 24/7 concierge services and hotel stay upgrades at eligible locations
- Minimum income requirement:$60,000 or a minimum household income of $100,000
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Want To Get A Visa Gift Card
A smart gift anyone can appreciate.
The Visa Gift card is an ideal choice for birthdays, holidays, weddings, and suits all your gift-giving needs. It’s also perfect for people of all ages. You decide how much money to give; they decide where to spend it.
You will receive important information regarding the Visa Gift card such as how to activate and use the card. This information should be given to the recipient of the card.
Do I Have To Pay The Activation Fee

Im often asked if there is any way to buy a Visa gift card without paying the activation fee or purchase charge. The answer is no. Visa, Mastercard®, American Express® and other bank-issued gift cards charge a purchase fee to cover the money they have to pay to third parties like the store, the program manager, and the processor. Though you cant avoid paying the purchase charge entirely, there are ways to save money on Visa and other open loop gift cards.
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Lost And Stolen Cards
If your prepaid Visa card is lost or stolen, reach out to our customer service team by completing our contact form. A customer service representative will be in touch as soon as possible.
Please note that in some cases, prepaid Visa cards with remaining balances may be suspended and reissued with a minor service fee.
Watch For Gift Card Deals
Almost every week, I update a blog post on Top Gift Card Deals. In this post, I share all the gift card deals Im aware of including discounts on gift cards, gift card promos, gift card buy one, get ones and more. Often popular store and restaurant gift cards are advertised, but occasionally, bank-issued gift cards are part of the offers as well.
As we near the holiday season, I expect to see many more gift card deals available, both online and in stores. When you see a bank-issued gift card for sale, do the math on how much youll pay to purchase it, minus how much you can save with the offer.
During early October of this year, Office Depot had a sale save $15 when you buy $300 or more in Visa gift cards. The Five Back Visa card was included in the offer. So lets see. $300 minus $15 is $285. Add the $6.95 purchase fee and youll pay $292.95 for a $300 Visa that will give you $15 back. When I do the math, thats a $315 value for $292.95 if you redeem the gift card at participating merchants.
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About Visa Gift Cards
Visa is the world’s most widely-accepted credit card company. They help over 200 countries connect people, governments, businesses and financial institutions. From financial inclusion to advancing digital currency, Visa offers its consumers and clients secure and cutting edge solutions to their financial needs.
Get the best Visa gift card deals when you shop Gift Card Granny. We take pride in our customization options, ease of ordering and speed of delivery. You can also save on the go with our mobile app!
Send a prepaid Visa gift card to anyone, for any occasion. Simply select a traditional plastic gift card or an eGift card that the recipient can download for immediate use. Usable to make purchases on anywhere* that accepts Visa as a form of payment.
Where Can I Buy A Visa Gift Card
Visa gift cards can be purchased in many denominations at convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores or drug stores. They can also be purchased online or in select banks. Looking for a gift card without a fee? Take your pick with a selection of popular brands through Gift Card Granny; choose between restaurants, groceries,;gas and more.
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How We Picked These Cards
The best;prepaid cards;are not only great budgeting tools, but they also provide a lot of other features and are relatively affordable. We considered several factors as we compiled our list, including fees, extra benefits, free reload options and ways to get money back.
We also wanted to highlight cards that go above and beyond the norm. The cards we chose have special features, like a high-rate savings account, compatibility with popular digital wallets or maybe a huge free ATM network.
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For Flat Rate: Td First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card*
Some people want to earn points when they travel, as well as on an ongoing basis. If this sounds like you, then the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card is our top choice. You can rack up TD Rewards points throughout the year and then easily make a redemption through Expedia for TD. With this card, youll get 3 points per $1 spent on all your everyday purchases and 9 points per $1 spent when you make online purchases through Expedia for TD. That means youre earning a 1.5% and 4.5% return respectively in travel points. Expedia For TD is just like the regular Expedia platform, so youll have no problem finding ways to redeem your points.
With the annual fee of $120 rebated for the first year and a welcome bonus of up to 100,000 pointswhich has a travel value of up to $670 $500 when you book travel purchases through ExpediaForTD.comthis is one of the best travel credit card offers available right now.
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Best Options For Buying Visa And Mastercard Gift Cards
A common practice for increasing credit card rewards is to use a credit card to buy PIN-enabled Visa or Mastercard gift cards, and then liquidate those cards by using them to reload prepaid cards, buy money orders, or pay bills.
The first step is to find PIN-enabled Visa or Mastercard gift cards that can be bought with a credit card, with low fees, and without risk of incurring cash advance fees.; Thats where this post can help.; Note that this post focuses on options available within the United States only.; Within the US, options vary by region, by county, by store, and even from one cashier to another.
You can often find promotions to save on the activation fees. Current and recently expired promotions are listed here:
Do Prepaid Cards Hurt Your Credit

Prepaid cards dont hurt your credit. Unlike credit cards, you arent borrowing any money from the card issuer youre accessing your own money that youve uploaded to the card account.
Because of this, prepaid cards dont require a , which can have a slightly negative effect on your credit scores.
But prepaid cards also dont have any positive effect on your credit. With a credit card that reports to the three major consumer credit bureaus, making payments on-time and in full and keeping your overall balance low can help you build credit history. Prepaid cards dont report any of your activity to the bureaus, so they wont help you build credit.
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Mbna True Line Gold Mastercard*
People looking to reduce the amount of interest they pay should consider a low-interest credit card like the MBNA True Line Gold card. You wont earn anything for your spending on the card, but the interest rate is just 8.99%, which is significantly lower than the average of 19.99% most other credit cards charge. If youre currently carrying a balance on a credit card with a higher interest rate, then you should also consider taking advantage of the optional balance transfer at the time of application. Balances transferred wont be charged interest for a full six months, which could save you bundles.
- Annual fee: $39
- Purchase interest rate: 8.99%
- Balance transfer offer: Optional balance transfer at 0% interest for the first 6 months
NOTE:;this offer is not available for residents of Quebec
Are Prepaid Cards A Bad Idea
Prepaid cards can make sense in certain situations for example, if you dont have a checking account or you just dont want the temptation of using credit.
But there can be downsides to prepaid cards. One major downside? The relatively high fees just for holding, loading, or even withdrawing money from the card. And you wont build credit by using a prepaid card. If youve already got a bank account, or think you might be interested in opening one, consider your alternatives instead.
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Best For Businesses: Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel rewards when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
$95 | |
Rewards Earning Rate | Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on shipping purchases, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines, internet, cable and phone services, and travel each account anniversary year. Earn unlimited 1 Point Per $1 spent on all other purchases. Points do not expire as long as your account is open. |
Cash Advance APR | |
Either $15 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. |
- Why We Chose This Card:
- Pros & Cons:
- Highlights:
Theres a lot to like about this business Visa card, including a 100,000-point bonus for new cardholders who spend $15,000 within their first three months. This offer is worth $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel rewards when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. The annual fee is reasonable and theres a good rewards scheme. In addition to airfare and other travel purchases, youll earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent each year on travel, internet and phone services, shipping, and social media advertising.
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Outstanding bonus for new cardholders
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Extra rewards points on many different types of business expenses
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Many ways to redeem rewards
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Option to transfer points to eligible airline loyalty programs, in some cases getting more value per point
How Do I Claim Giftcardscom Visa Virtual Accounts And Where Can Virtual Accounts Be Used
GiftCards.com Visa Virtual Accounts are delivered via e-mail with confirmation link. Clicking the confirmation link in the email will send the recipient to an activation screen. Alternatively, you can go directly to the Activate page and enter the Gift Activation Code found in the e-mail received.
Virtual Accounts can be used to make purchases on the Internet and by telephone from any merchant that accepts Visa debit cards.
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Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card
Our pick for: Flat-rate cash back
The Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card is designed for big spenders, although perhaps not the biggest spenders. It offers the highest ongoing rewards rate of any flat-rate cash-back card, but it also charges an annual fee, and it limits the amount of spending that earns rewards. If you’re expecting to put more than $2,500 a month on a credit card, this is an excellent one to put it on. Read our review.
How To Use A Prepaid Card
You use a prepaid card to make purchases in stores, shop online and pay bills. Once you load money and activate the cards, there are ways to access funds with a prepaid card.
- ATM withdrawal: Prepaid debit cards let you withdraw cash at an ATM. ATM operator fees for withdrawals vary based upon the provider and your card policy.
- Point-of-sale transaction: Simply swipe or insert the card into a retailers reader or type in the number to complete an online transaction. Stores that accept debit transactions often allow shoppers to receive cash back on a purchase. This may let you withdraw money without paying the fees associated with an ATM withdrawal. There may be a cash back withdrawal limit from the retailer.
- Electronic transfer: Its easy to transfer funds between accounts if you link your prepaid account with another bank account. In some cases, it may be possible to send money without linking it. Some cards also allow transfers to a Cash App, Venmo or PayPal account, for example.
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Did You Lose Your Visa Gift Card
If you happen to lose a Visa gift card, you should report it immediately to the card issuer. Youll need to provide the lost or stolen Visa Gift card number for cancellation and replacement.
So it may be a smart idea to write the number down somewhere in case you do lose it or have it stolen.
Want to earn free Visa Gift cards? Check out my article on the best 33 gift card apps!
Can You Use A Visa Debit Card As A Credit Card

You can use most, if not all, Visa debit cards as a credit card, including prepaid Visa cards. If you run a debit card as credit, the funds are not withdrawn from your account immediately and your transaction will take a day or two to clear. You’ll also not be able to receive cash back if you run a Visa debit card as a credit card.
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What Is A Gift Card
A gift card is also a type of stored value card loaded with funds for future discretionary use. Only it contains a specific amount of money. Once this sum is spent down, the card can no longer be used. Gift cards also have expiration dates, which are often much shorter than that of prepaid cards.
Gift cards can be purchased in several different formats. The most familiar type is what’s technically known as a closed loop card: It is good only at a particular merchant or certain retailer and bears that outfit’s name and logo. Some retail groups will allow the same gift card to be used at any of their affiliated stores.
Gift cards began with specific stores. Now, however, many of the major charge or credit card issuers, like American Express, Visa, Discover, and MasterCard, are also offering gift cards, good anywhere the regular plastic is accepted. Known as open-loop cards, these are most easily confused with prepaid debit cards, especially since some of them are reloadable as well. These cards may carry a one-time activation fee.
Prepaid vs. Gift Cards |
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